January 2nd, 2021 Age 93 predeceased by her husband Julian Vogel, her parents Isadore and Sadie Fine, sister Vivian Cousins and brother Edward Fine. She is survived by her loving children Rebecca (Thomas) Peck, Benjamin (Yvonne) Vogel, and Deborah Vogel, grandchildren Julia, Eric and Sarah and great-grandchildren, Adelyn and Emerson.
This is a tribute to Ada Vogel, to a long life and a life well lived.
Ada grew up in Brooklyn, NY where she played handball with the boys and earned the nickname Ada the Tomata. She met and married her one true love there, Julian. After they married, they moved to Rochester NY, where Julian started his career as an Optometrist. They had 3 children (Rebecca, Ben and Debbie) and then Ada started her career in Real Estate. Real Estate did not just become her career it became her passion. She not only loved selling houses, she loved getting to know her clients and finding the perfect house for them. It is what made her such a great agent and why she received so many awards and accolades.
In the 60s and 70s Ada and Julian would take the month of May off and travel throughout Europe. This also inspired her passion for cooking, as she would come back home and try new recipes from the different countries she had been to. How wonderful it was to come home and smell fresh baked French bread! After Julian passed she would travel with her children and grandchildren, taking them on cruises, where more memories were made.
Ada was passionate about everything she did. Shopping for Ada was not just buying an outfit. Shopping for Ada was coming home from Loehmanns with a bag in each hand, one under each arm and more in the trunk and my father looking at her and saying ‘How much money did you save me this time?!’. When she had a dinner party it was well planned, with appetizers, a full course meal and her famous chocolate roll for dessert, all of which she made and prepared herself. She loved to cook and to entertain and it showed in the amazing and wonderful parties she threw.
When she got dressed for the day, Ada did not just dress nicely, she was dressed from head to toe in a beautiful outfit, make-up, jewelry and the perfect shoes and handbag to match. When people would hear our last name was Vogel, they would always say, ‘Do you know Ada?’ Yes, we would say, she’s our mother. ‘Oh we love Ada, she always dresses so beautifully’.
Holidays and dinners were always at Mamma’s house with all her children and grandchildren. After dinner we would all play games. Weekends in the summer were spent at her pool (also known as Club Ada). She would always say or do something that would make us laugh (not always intentionally). Whether it was trying to cheat at cards or getting upset because we bought the wrong kind of bagels, it was always something uniquely Ada that gave us so many fond memories.
She was a loving grandmother to Julia, Eric and Sarah and had the good fortune to be a great grandmother to Adelyn and Emerson.
Ada proved early on in the 1960’s that women could have it all. She took care of her family, worked passionately at her career, travelled the world and still had the energy and drive to do more.
Ada was the true matriarch of the family and a big presence. Life will not be the same without her and her loss leaves a big hole, one that we will fill with all the amazing memories she left us. She was and always will be, uniquely Ada.
Due to COVID restrictions services were held privately in Mount Hope cemetery. Those wishing may make a donation to the Rochester Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 422 South Clinton Avenue, Rochester, New York 14608 [LINK] or the United Jewish Federation, 255 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14604 [LINK] in her memory.
